Sandman

I have been studying German for a little while now and I have noticed that there are some similarities in it to Afrikaans, which is a language I am fluent in, for example the number 4, 'vier' it has exactly the same spelling in both German and Afrikaans, another one is 'gesehen' which in Afrikaans is 'gesien', also the way in which context is used is quite similar. Afrikaans is almost like Dutch, some people say that if you can speak Afrikaans you could communicate with a Dutchman.

I just really like the sound of Italian, I don't actually know anybody what speaks Italian so I am just learning it for myself, I enjoy different languages and have always liked to listen to people speaking different languages, I guess it intrigues me. Speaking only two languages all my life I decided that I'm going to make time for 2 more, then after that 2 more and so on and yes, it's a long term goal.

There is an app called 'babbel' that I have been using, I found it on the google play store for free and downloaded it to my phone, it's quite simple but it has a very repetitive way of teaching new words and phrases that really help me remember them. It's free so why not give a shot, plus you have the convenience of carrying it around with you!

A good paperback for someone your age is a book titled 'Man Skills' I read it at about that age, it teaches a hundred things that a man should know! As for entertainment, try something that most people is familiar with and read the Lord of The Rings trilogy, I have a 3 book set that shares titles with the movies that was made, it quite a good read plus you get to read about all the stuff they left out of the movies.

The first english novel I read and thorouhly enjoyed was called 'The Wrath of God', it is a fiction novel written by Jack Higgins, I have enjoyed some of his other novels aswell, currently reading works by Adrian D'Hage and James Clavell.

My girlfriend likes it when I speak Italian, I don't know much Italian yet and she does not speak it but there's just something about it I guess. It is quite a passionate language if that makes sense and I do enjoy the little of it I can currently speak.

Both the languages that I am fluent in are taught at school here so that would be with other students, as for learning other languages one can take classes but for the most part this type of learning is through self study

I was taught two languages from birth. Most people in my country learn 2 or more languages from when they learn to first start speaking, South-Africa has 11 official languages.

As the title suggests, what would be a good place to start when one is taking on a languge, learning individual words, greetings or commonly used phrases? Also what can one do about learning the correct pronouciation of foreign words if one does not have a native of said language to speak to? So any tip's or tricks/tecniques for people taking on a new language for the first are welcome here. Thanks guys.

I dont actually remember when I started learning the English language, that and Afrikaans are both languages that I just always known, I knew how to speak both before I even went to school to actually study them.

Yes, in South-Africa English is a compulsory subject at most of the schools here, all but the rural one's and we must do it from when start schooling until we graduate.

One of the classics that I like is in the movie 'Predator': "If it bleeds, we can kill it".

I often refer back to my dictionary to look for alternative meanings of words or even just and alternative word, I like to find new ways to say something and use words that one does not hear everyday. Whenever I am writing the dictionary is by my side.

I like the scottish accent but thats mainly thanks Billy Connoly, he just makes it sound so funny, I myself am not Scottish however.

Awesome guys! keep 'em coming!